Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-27
a. Alarming Effect

An Alarming Effect.
One of the most alarming results
of the Interstate law is the diversion
OF the traffic between Eastern cities
and the Pacific Coast to the Canadian
Pacific road. There must be some
thing radically wrong in law that
will force our transcontinental freight
from American railroads to foreign
line. One would suppose that on
fair business principles the American
overland roads could successfully
compete with the Canadian road for
the transportation of American
freight, especially when the former
have a vast advantage in distance
over their foreign competitor. Up to
the time that the Interstate law went
into effect there was no diversion OF
the traffic. But the obstacles raised
by that law to the cheap car
risge OF goods on long hauls
has worked so favorably for
the Canadian Pacific that we find that
whole steamship cargoes OF freight
are forwarded from San Francisco TO
Port Moody to be sent by the Cana
dian line to Eastern points. The fact
is the Interstate law has attempted to
put the commerce OF the country IN
a straight jacket, and the result is
seen in the alarming diversion OF
traffic over the Canadian Pacific. No
one believes that the trainers OF the
law contemplated any such result
from their legislation. They applied
ordinary business rules to traffic
that cannot be governed by ordinary
business rules. The railroads deal
with the business OF the whole coun-
try, and they must regulate their
tariffs to conform with the general
interests of commerce and not be
circumscribed by mathematical re-
strictions such as the Interstate
law contemplates. The. merchants
who are located at competl-
tive points must receive from the
roads the advantages incident to their
location, or they will seek other
available channels OF transportation.
No law can wipe out these advan-
tages hence any law that runs coun-
Ter to them will either work injury
or prove dead letter. The great
bulk of the commerce of the coun-
try moves on long lines. When leg
islation tries to fetter this commerce
with infexible rules-rules that will
not bend to the inexorable laws OF
competition-nothing but mischief
can ensue. To make the charges
equal between competitive and nom
competitive points is not to relieve
the latter, but to oppress the former.
1t must even eventually work disas-
trously to the non-competitive points,
for, if the result of raising the rates
at com petitive points to those charged
at non-competitive points is to di-
vert the long hauls to foreign
roads or to the ocean routes,
the railways will recoup for their
losses on the interior non-competitive
points by raising their already high
rates. Thus, then, the bill will not
only fail to accomplish its purpose OF
benefiting non-competitive points,
but it will force American commerce
into foreign channels, to the serious
detriment of the prosperity OF the
whole country. We have seen enough
30 far OF the evil effects of this law to
satisfy us that the principle sought
to be attained by it, while it may be
sound enough in theory, results very
pernieiously in practice. No law
that forces American commerce into
foreign channels can be founded on
wise and judicious principles. As far
as this coast is concerned, section
four must be perpetually suspended,
or our overland traffic will be entirely
diverted from American railroads. |
The daily Ne'cs-AdUertiser of Van
couver, British Columbia, for the
10th inst. records the arrival of the |
steamship Walla Walla from San
Francisco with 1900 tons of merchan-
disc to be shipped over the Canadian
Pacific railway. The cargo repre-
sents $50 carloads, or ten trains Of
fifteen cars to train. A large por-
ton of the cargo is destined for Bos-
ton, but shipments are consigned to
st. Joseph, Missouri; Omaha, Neb-
raska, and Kansas City, all of which
cities are in direct communication
by rail with San Francisco. The
freight list includes leather, dry
hides, wool, sugar, etc. The cargo'
rs .11I I & 4. II n. a. HI. lz &